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Next weekend Blyth Festival will be celebrating 10 years as a
theatre. Actors, playwrights and other Festival members who have
been involved with the theatre, will be descending on the small
village to share in the celebration. Among the list of events schedul-
ed will be an informal baseball game at the Blyth Public School ball
diamond. (Wendy Somerville photo)
Memorial Hall has a theatrical past
Like the theatre's dramatic presence, the
Blyth Memorial Hall has had a vibrant and
interesting past.
Erected in 1920 as a memorial to veterans
who fought in World War I, the hall has been
serving the community ever since.
Vaudeville shows and touring plays were
originally staged at the hall. As well, dances
and meetings were held in the basement of
the hall. In those days one of the biggest
annual events was the firemen's dance.
One of the more famous shows to travel to
Blyth was the Jimmy Faxe troupe. Held in
connection with the annual fall fair, Jimmy
Faxe performed a one man show. Over the
years, Jimmy became a well known visitor
to Blyth and the troupe -performed in the
village from 1920 to approximately 1950.
In the 1920s, the theatre was built upstairs
at the hall. The stage, measuring 40 by 20
feet wide, was the most modern and largest
in the area and the theatre was known for its
comfortable seats, modern designs and
excellent acoustics.
However, with the growing popularity of
television in the 1950s, interest in live
theatre declined.
The Blyth Memorial Hall was abandoned
and the building fell intoa state of disrepair.
The basement floors no longer shook with
the excitement and fervor of annual dances
and the theatre no longer echoed the voles
of minstrels on stage. ,
Recovery came in the 1970s when a group
of local people saw potential in the old hall
and came to its rescue.
Donations were made to buy supplies,
while volunteers climbed ladders, scrubbed
woodwork and repainted. By early
September the hall, they thought, was ready
to use.
The first event to be held in the newly
renovated hall was to be a variety night and
fashion show, sponsored by the Board of
Trade. Although they thought the hall was
ready for use, the local fire chief, who
inspected the building declared the fire
escapes unsafe and closed the hall until they
were replaced.
At this time, it was the Blyth Council who
carne to the rescue, agreeing to pay for the
new fire escapes. Before these were
installed however, one councillor 'noticed a
sag in the roof he thought should be checked
before any money was spent.
A local engineer was hired to examine the
structure. He found the roof below standard
and unable to support snow loads. He said
that the theatre should not be used until
repairs were made, however the lower
portion of the hall was usable.
As -the question of renovationscontinued,
some village councillors began doubting the
project and the costs involved. One
.councillor suggested the building be torn
down.
Instead, a survey was printed in The Blyth
Standard.. It asked the public whether the
Memorial Hall should be torn down or left
standing. Only one reply suggested
demolition.
Council agreed to re-examine the
engineer's report. It recommended a minor
strengthening of the floor, the stage and
auditorium and a total replacement of the
roof. The roof cost $50,000. Of this, $10,000
Wouid`eo pe from the village and the rest
from government grants.
In 1975, a dream for the Blyth Memorial
Hall developed. Keith Roulston, envisioned
a summer theatre company to the village.
He mentioned his dream to Paul
Thompson, artistic director of Toronto's
Theatre Passe Muraille.
Keith remembers walking down the
streets of Blyth with "shaggy, scruffy" Paul
Thompson, as the local merchants- peeked
out of their shop windows.
Paul suggested that James Roy, a young
area director, could . make the theatre
dream a reality and the Blyth Summer
Festival was born.
It began 10 years ago with two
productions. Keith recalled of the first
opening night, "We must havebeen nuts. I
remember spending the first night sitting on
the steps with James Roy, talking about
plans for the next two to three years."
Keith said that from opening night, "we
were on to something, but we didn't know
how big."
"Opening night was the worst night of my
life," Keith told a dinner audience at the
opening of this year's 10th season.
"I missed dinner," he recalled, "I was
still cleaning in the back."
The theatre seating consisted of old
varnished seats and in the heat, people
actually stuck to them. Keith joked, "It was
a plot so people couldn't get out.
Before the opening night performance the
theatre entrance door lock broke and cast
and crew frantically worked to repair it, so
the Lieutenant Governor could get in to see
the show.
The early years were filled with calamity,
but they were also exciting years. For Keith,
the best times were seeing actors like Kate
Trotter and Seana McKenna perform,
working with playwrights like Ted Johns
and Peter Colley and volunteer board
members Mildred McAdam, Liz Herman,
Sheila Richards and Lynda Lentz.
By 1977 many people saw the potential for
theatre in Blyth and the further renovation
work was proposed. By 1979 the construction
crews were at work.
"This is like heaven compared to when we
first started," Keith said. "We really didn't
envisage in 1975 what would happen down
the road."
The year 1979 also brought a new artistic
director to Blyth. Janet Amos brought with
her talent, enthusiasm, confidence and
pride.
In the past five years she has helped
create a theatre that is a pride to the
community and critically acclaimed across
the nation.
In a decade the Blyth Summer Festival
.has gone from a first season, with two
.productions and attendance of 2,000, to a
1984 gala season, with five plays and an
estimated attendance of more than 30,000.
"Blyth is one of the most important
theatres in Canada," Janet enthused.
She describes the theatre as a "model for
the world." No where else has she seen a
theatre of Blyth's quality developed in a
rural area.
"It's inspiring and fun to other ss
communities. If it can happen here, ircan
happen anywhere."
More Blyth Festival
stories on page 6A
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